This invention relates to a method of masking a vehicle during spray painting and in particular to a method of masking the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post of a vehicle.
The xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post of a vehicle is the pillar situated between the rear edges of the front door and leading edge of the rear door of a vehicle. The xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post often supports the hinges of the rear door and the fastening catch for the front door. When re-spraying door panels it is necessary to mask the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post in such a way as to prevent overspray going through the gap between the front and rear doors. This is a difficult area to mask since the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post is often irregularly shaped and dirty and will not readily accept conventional masking materials having pressure sensitive adhesive. Also, the door panels are generally spaced some distance from the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post and it is not possible to rely upon the door holding masking material in place by compressing the material against the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post with the edge of the door.
The present invention provides a simple, effective technique for masking xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d posts.
Therefore, according to the present invention there is provided a method of masking a vehicle xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post comprising the steps of:
providing a resiliently conformable strip of masking material having a width greater than the maximum distance between the trailing edge of the front door adjacent the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post and the leading edge of the rear door adjacent the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post and a length at least equal to the length of the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post to be masked, the strip having pressure sensitive adhesive on a surface adjacent a longitudinal edge of the strip,
opening said front door,
applying said strip to the inner surface of the leading edge of the rear door so that the pressure sensitive adhesive securely adheres the strip to conform with the profile of the leading edge and the strip extends across the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post to an extent sufficient to overlap with the trailing edge of the front door when said front door is closed, and
closing the front door to abut said overlap thereby masking the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post.
It has been found that by selecting a resiliently conformable masking material e.g. foam strip, thick paper scrim, non-woven material etc., it is readily possible to adhere the masking material to the inner surface of the leading edge of the rear door by pressure sensitive adhesive so that the masking material projects across the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post and will maintain this configuration. The front door is closed over the overlapping portion of the masking material. The masking material is sufficiently stiff not to be displaced by the pressure of the paint spray thereby effectively masking the xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d post and preventing ingress of overspray inside the doors.
The masking material is generally has a stripe of pressure sensitive adhesive of from 8 to 12 mm wide adjacent one longitudinal edge, normally within 2 mm of the edge. In one embodiment the strip may have a second adhesive strip adjacent the other longitudinal edge for adhering to the inside of the trailing edge of the front door. The additional adhesive strip may have a width of from 8 to 12 mm and is normally positioned with 2 mm of the other edge.
The masking strip may conveniently be provided in the form of a roll wound upon itself, optionally about a core. Therefore according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a roll of masking material comprising a foam strip wound upon itself, the foam strip having a width of from 20 to 40 mm, a thickness of from 10 to 20 mm and pressure sensitive adhesive on a major surface adjacent a longitudinal edge. The masking material may conveniently be formed from foam web by the process disclosed in EP 0384626 (the content whereof is incorporated herein by reference).
The strips may be formed in a parallel array each strip being separable. Therefore according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a roll of masking material comprising a parallel array of foam strips conjoined and manually separable, each foam strip having a width of from 20 to 40 mm, a thickness of from 10 to 20 mm and pressure sensitive adhesive on a major surface adjacent a longitudinal edge. The array may be formed by applying an adhesive to a foam web and slitting the web. Alternatively, the array may be formed in accordance with EP 0384626, which results in an array in which the strips have an elliptical or oval cross-section and adjacent strips are joined by longitudinal welded seams that maintain the curvature of the strips.